Sisters

sisters are special, strange, and specific 

which I wrote in greeting card to Karen Stovall when her sister Harriet died in August 2022

special = better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual

strange = unusual or surprising in a way that is unsettling or hard to understand

specific = belonging or relating uniquely to a particular subject

Photo taken Summer 2017 at our annual family reunion

Here's a favorite quote from the Downton Abbey television series in which Lady Edith explains to her older sister Lady Mary why she continues to engage.  

“Because in the end, you’re my sister. And one day only we will remember Sybil...Until at last our shared memories will mean more than our mutual dislike.”

Oh, and one more quote from Julian Fellowes in his book _Past Imperfect_

"One of the strangest parts of growing older (is) that ever-increasing Team of the Dead, who stand behind your shoulder and take it in turns to jump in and out of your head. A picture, a shop, a street, a clock that someone gave you, an ornament that came from this dead aunt or a chair from that dead uncle, and suddenly for a second they're alive again, whispering in your ear. There is a religion somewhere in the world that believes we all die twice; once in the normal way and the second time when the last person who really knew us dies, so one's living memory is gone from the earth." 

 Second photo taken March 23, 2019